Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s assertions
that its Nigerian oil spills are caused by theft and sabotage
are often untrue, according to Amnesty International, which said
investigations into the incidents have been manipulated.

Shell’s assessment of official probes into the spills has
been “subjective, misleading and downright false,” the human-rights group said today in a report. The analysis was carried
out by U.S. consultants AccuFacts at the request of London-based
Amnesty and the Nigeria-based Centre for Environment, Human
Rights and Development.

“Shell is being disingenuous about the devastation caused
by its Niger Delta operations,” Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty’s
Director of Global Issues, said today in an e-mailed statement.
“This new evidence shows that Shell’s claims about the oil
spills cannot be trusted.”

Hundreds of spills occur every year in Nigeria, Africa’s
top oil producer, damaging the environment and destroying the
livelihood of rural communities in the Niger River delta region.
Pipeline ruptures can be caused by corrosion, poor maintenance
and equipment failure, as well as by thieves and saboteurs.

Shell “firmly rejects unsubstantiated assertions that they
have exaggerated the impact of crude-oil theft and sabotage to
distract attention from operational performance,” Precious
Okolobo, a spokesman, said in a statement. “We seek to bring
greater transparency and independent oversight to the issue of
oil spills, and will continue to find ways to enhance this.”

The company, operating in Nigeria for more than 70 years,
has faced criticism from locals who say it pollutes the
environment. In 2009 Shell agreed to pay $15.5 million to settle
U.S. lawsuits brought by Nigerians representing the delta’s
Ogoniland area. It denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Locals Sue

Separately, Shell’s Nigerian unit was sued in March 2012 in
Britain by 11,000 residents of the coastal Bodo community in
Ogoniland, who said their land and wetlands were spoiled after
two spills in 2008. Settlement talks broke down after their
lawyers rejected a compensation offer. Amnesty said in November
2012 that Shell should pay $1 billion to start cleaning the
area.

Video footage from Bodo reviewed by AccuFacts shows that
Shell “seriously under-recorded” the volume of oil spilled,
Amnesty said. Secretly filmed material shows officials from The
Hague-based Shell and Nigeria’s National Oil Spill Detection and
Response Agency urging local residents on the investigation team
not to blame the incident on equipment failure, the group said.

“Solutions to the terrible tragedy of oil pollution in the
Niger Delta need to be found,” Shell’s Okolobo said from Lagos.
Crude theft affects people, the environment and the economy and
“remains the main cause of oil pollution in the delta today.”